U.S. Senate Votes to Restore Net Neutrality, Now Expected to Face Major Hurdle in House

The United States Senate today voted to repeal the Federal Communication Commission’s “Restoring Internet Freedom” order, which was enacted last December and reverses Obama-era Net Neutrality rules. Today’s decision ended with a vote of 52-47 in favor of restoring Net Neutrality protections, with supporters totaling all 47 Democratic Senators, two independents, and three Republican Senators. The Senate Democrats used the Congressional Review Act to call for the vote to halt Net Neutrality’s repeal. The law gives Congress 60 days to review and potentially reverse regulations passed by a federal agency, in this case the FCC. Under the act, the decision will now move onto the House of Representatives, where it’s expected to not make it past the Republican-majority House. If the measure ultimately makes it to President Trump’s desk, it’s likewise believed that he wouldn’t back the decision to go against a regulation created by his own FCC chairman Ajit Pai. Net Neutrality has been an increasingly heated debate since momentum gathered in the Republican-controlled FCC last fall, predicting the repeal of the rules that eventually came in December. If the new efforts fail, Net Neutrality rules will officially end in the U.S. in less than a month, on June…